2020/2021 Winners & Shortlists

Background

Donner Sang Compter is a Lebanese NGO that promotes voluntary blood donation. It helps patients in need of blood by linking them to voluntary blood donors registered on its database, or by raising stocks of blood banks through low-budget blood donation drives and their mobile clinics. But, in Lebanon, this blood is never enough, especially in those times of strife. Compounded by the fact that there is no central blood bank, patients in Lebanon are forced to turn to social media in desperation. So, Donner Sang Compter sought help to create awareness about the importance of giving blood. The goal was to create buzz about blood donation by letting people know that it was meaningful to donate, and then enabling them to do so without much effort. The big challenge here was to break through, on a low budget, in a cluttered media landscape and a politically-charged, war stricken country.

Describe the creative idea (40% of vote)

"Blood Unity" We tapped into an untapped occasion: Ashura. It is the tenth day of Muharram, the first month in the Islamic calendar. It marks the day that Hussain ibn Ali, the grandson of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, was martyred in the Battle of Karbala. On the Day of Ashura, a day of public mourning, Muslims in Lebanon commemorate the death of Imam Hussein by spilling their blood. While these men willingly spill their blood on the streets, Lebanon remains in desperate need of anyone who will willingly give their blood to those in need. So, for Donner Sang Compter, we leveraged the Day of Ashura as the stage, and created Blood Unity, an initiative that encouraged those who spilled blood to donate it instead.

Describe the execution (40% of vote)

For the visual identity, we tapped into imagery used over generations by Islamic groups to summon their followers. This imagery has always been wrongly associated with extremism, but we used it to convey a message of peace and unity. For the logo design, we incorporated the Kufi script; one of most valuable Arabic calligraphies used by generations of Muslims. The geometric design allowed us to animate parts of the emblem to highlight blood circulation and donation levels. Combining these into a modern image of the blood bag showed that we were transforming the old traditions into something new, just like we were doing on the streets of Lebanon. The "Blood Unity" emblem was used on DSCs donor trucks, Ashura flags, outdoor and social media, propagating a culture of tolerance and give, while removing the stigma of an otherwise violent event. The campaign made it to all 5 major TV networks.

List the results (20% of vote)

We turned bloodletting into blood giving. A donor who formerly spilled blood said, “I used to be one of those people that struck my head with an open razor until I realized that the blood spilled on the floor, was needed by so many others.” This campaign not only brought the message about voluntary blood donation to new audiences but also got the Muslim religious establishment to endorse the idea. Blood Donations in Lebanon hit a national record with this campaign. We collected 700 blood units; 400% increase in previous initiatives, that went on to save 1965 lives, compared to 360 from the usual 3-day blood donation drives. While the amount of blood raised was important, what was also important was the amount of awareness raised among Lebanese, and this has helped the nation take strides towards creating Lebanon’s first National Blood Bank.